The laying of current-transmitting cables between members for producing, consuming or shunting electrical energy, involves cutting these cables to length and stripping each of the terminal parts so as to facilitate electrical connection with the terminals provided to that end.
These two operations are carried out by means of tools of specific character, constituted by an independent wire cutter and by a wire stripper.
The wire cutter is in the form of shears, comprising two cutting edges located opposite each other and enabling the insulating covering and the wire to be cut simultaneously.
The wire stripper comprises two edges presenting opposite complementary notches defining a range of templates whose sections correspond to the standardized sections of the electrical wiring used.
Such a stripper is used by suitably choosing, within the range of templates, the calibre corresponding to the section of the electrical wire to be stripped. The cable is placed between the notches and the stripper is closed, cutting only the thickness of the insulating covering. By axial traction, the stripper then enables the cut covering part to be extracted by sliding, in order to strip the corresponding part of the electrical cable.
In an attempt to carry out cutting and stripping in one single operation, the prior art has proposed a combined tool comprising two articulated levers of which the useful ends are provided with two returns each presenting relatively mobile jaws which, after cutting, make it possible to slide the insulating covering with respect to the electrical wires. Such a combined tool is characterized in that its use involves holding the tool flat, substantially parallel to the wire, and maneuvering it so that the operator can observe and control the successive cutting and stripping phases.
It has proved that such an orientation of use is not ergonomic and requires that the operator holds his fore-arm, wrist and hand in such a position as rapidly to cause fatigue after repeated actions and, in particular, considerably to reduce the physical power of clamping which he may exert on the gripping handles for actuating the tool.
Furthermore, such a tool structure is also characterized by considerable dimensions in the working plane, which is incontestably detrimental during execution and, more particularly, when a cutting-stripping operation is to be carried out inside a switch cabinet for example.
Another drawback of the above tool lies in its relative complexity resulting from the different relatively mobile constituent members having to be employed, in the resultant fragility and in the cost price that such a structure involves.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above drawbacks by proposing a novel combined tool for cutting and stripping the ends of electrical wires covered with an insulating sheath.
The combined tool according to the invention is principally constituted so that the cutting and stripping action may be effected with an ordinary hand-hold similar to that of a wire cutter, in which the general plane of the tool is perpendicular to the wire to be cut and stripped.
The combined tool according to the invention is, furthermore, designed so as to be of relatively small dimensions, allowing practical use thereof even in small spaces where electrical connections have frequently to be made.
It is another object of the invention to propose a novel combined tool, of particularly robust and reliable design, capable of performing a certain service without failure in time.
A further object of the invention is to propose a combined tool which may allow cut and stripping of one end of a wire or possibly the two ends on either side of the cut effected.
Another object of the invention is to propose a combined tool which may be used for electrical wires of various sections, without requiring specific adjustment, as a function of the diameter of the electrical wire proper.